Longfellow's Wayside
by aLLiCaT225
Summary: A Ghost Adventures FanFiction- What happened that Valentine's Day weekend when the cameras weren't rolling? -Nick Groff/Zak Bagans. Nak. Oneshot.


**Author's Note: Been working on this one for a while now, finally finished it today. It's just my take on what _could_ have happened that night at Longfellow's Wayside Inn when the camera's weren't rolling on Zak...it's a little on the angsty side, but that's how I like my slash fics. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: The people are real. The place is real. The ghost is real (if you believe in that stuff). The story is fake. I wasn't there, but I'm betting this probably didn't happen. **

Sitting alone, in a dark room in a three-hundred year old inn searching for evidence of the paranormal was not the way most people would want to spend their Valentine's Day weekend. However, Zak Bagans was at a completely different end of the spectrum than "most people" and to him, trying to woo the spirit of the innkeeper's daughter who died of a broken heart many, many, years ago was better than any romantic dinner with a living, breathing human being.

Though he, Nick, and Aaron had finished with their investigation of Longfellow's Wayside Inn the night before, Zak lay on Jerusha's bed in room nine trying to continue on with the experiences he'd had the previous night when the cameras were rolling. This time, though, there were no melmeters or EMF detectors, no digital recorders or EVPs, just Zak, by himself, waiting to have a frisky encounter with the lonely women from beyond the grave.

Waiting…

And waiting…

"Jerusha? Sweetie?" Zak's voice came through the darkness slightly above a whisper. "Are you here?"

But there was nothing. No noises, no strange feelings or touches anywhere on his body. Zak sighed and sat up, turning his gaze over to the corner of the pitch dark room where people have seen the spirit of Jerusha standing, watching them with a longing look in her eyes.

A few moments of painfully lonely silence elapsed without even an inkling of the female entity's presence. The feeling of defeat was starting to set in, and Zak couldn't help but feel totally pathetic right now. Not to mention a little insulted.

Zak glanced back at the clock on the nightstand. The glowing red LED display informed him that it was a quarter past four in the morning. The insomniac in him knew that sleep wouldn't come very easily, even at this ungodly hour of the night. Still, he would at least give it a shot. Perhaps the feigned appearance of sleep would lure Jerusha into bed with him.

Just as soon as he had closed his eyes, three sharp knocking sounds echoed through the small room. Zak's senses were on high alert as he sat bolt upright in bed, blue eyes darting around the room and ears straining to listen for more.

"Is that you Jerusha?"

"No, dude it's me." The male's voice was coming from the other side of the door.

"Nick?" Zak couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

"Yeah, man. I just wanted to see how things were going," Nick told him through the door, trying to keep his voice low enough as to not disturb the few other guests staying at the inn. "I didn't mean to bother you, but Aaron fell asleep and I am bored as fuck right now."

"Dude, it's cool." Zak said through a slight yawn, before starting to lie back down. He assumed Nick would leave after that, but he still heard him shuffling about awkwardly out in the hallway.

"So, can I come in?" Nick asked after a beat.

Zak expelled a sigh, though it wasn't like he was doing anything else. "Yeah, sure."

The brass door knob rattled followed by Nick stating the obvious fact that had slipped Zak's mind. "It's locked, dude."

Right. Wordlessly, Zak pushed himself off the mattress and padded over to the door to let Nick in. The light from the hallway, though relatively dim, assaulted Zak's dark –adjusted eyes.

"Bro, it's after four in the morning," Zak complained, shutting the door and bathing the room in shadows once more. "Why are you still awake?"

Nick shrugged. "I guess I'm just so used to being up all night."

"Aaron somehow managed to get to sleep," Zak pointed out, returning to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Dude, Aaron has proved more than once that he can pretty much sleep wherever," Nick countered as he navigated his way over to one of the chairs in the corner of the room. "So, get anything yet?"

Zak shook his head and scratched at the back of his neck. "Nope."

"Really?" Nick seemed genuinely surprised. "Nothing at all? But she was like, all over you yesterday, I thought?"

"Yeah well, maybe Aaron and I wore her out," Zak responded half jokingly.

Nick scoffed and leaned back in the chair. "Or maybe you're just not her type after all."

Zak's daggered glare was shrouded by the darkness of the room and went unnoticed by Nick who then added, "Maybe you need a wife."

'What are you talking about?" Zak wasn't seeing the relevance in Nick's statement.

"Well, all those dudes that had experiences, most of them were here with their wives," He explained. "You probably need someone here that's gunna make her jealous."

Zak made a noncommittal noise and briefly considered Nick's sentiment. Hell, at this point he was willing to give anything a shot. Only, there was just one problem.

"Where the hell am I gunna find a willing chick to lay here with me at four-thirty in the morning?"

"Dude, don't look at me. I'm not the one trying to have sex with a ghost here. I can actually get some from the living."

Zak was about to open his mouth to retort with a comeback he had yet to think of when a curious thought struck him.

"Dude, do you think it has to be a chick?"

Now it was Nick's turn to appear puzzled. "I'm not following."

"I mean, jealousy is jealousy right? Girl or _guy_?"

"Dude, no way." Nick finally got wind of what Zak was implying and he wanted no part of it. "I am not getting into that bed with you."

"Why not? It'll be, like two minutes. I just wanna see if anything happens." Zak was on the verge of begging. Finally, after a minute or so, Nick agreed, mostly because he could tell Zak was pretty much desperate at this point. Again, pathetic.

"Fine." He sighed and stood up as Zak once again lay down on the bed, leaving a space for Nick next to him atop the yellow comforter.

The seconds ticked by as they lay on their backs staring up at the white ceiling, waiting for something, anything to happen. But the room still remained engulfed in painstaking stillness.

"Nothing's happening," Nick's voice cut through the quiet darkness, startling Zak out of the trance-like state he had been in.

"Maybe we need to do something else."

"Like what?" Nick was almost afraid to hear what Zak had in mind.

"Well if you and I were really husband and wife, we probably wouldn't just be laying here doing nothing…"

"Dude…"

"Ugh, no man," Zak realized what his previous statement implied, quickly amending it. "I don't mean I wanna…just no. I just think we aren't giving Jerusha much to be jealous of. Maybe we should try, like, cuddling or something…"

Nick immediately shot up, trying to distance himself from Zak as much as possible without falling off the mattress. "Oh, hell no, bro!"

"Oh c'mon, I'd do it for you."

"Dude, don't use the words "do it" while I'm sitting in a bed with you…"

Zak gave Nick a look. "You realize you're being completely ridiculous, right?"

"Says the guy who's trying to hook up with a ghost…"

"Why did you even come in here if you're not even gunna help me?" Zak challenged, completely disregarding Nick's previous statement.

"I don't…" Rendered speechless by the point Zak raised, Nick saw no other option but to give in, yet again to one of Zak's absurd requests. The things he did to prove the existence of the paranormal…

"Fine." With another sigh, Nick positioned himself supine on the mattress while Zak scooted closer to him.

"Wait dude, lemme put my arm around you before you lay down."

"This is so wrong…" Even though he followed Zak's instructions and paused so the other's man's arm could be snaked around his body.

"Alright, now put your head on my chest," Zak ordered, pulling their bodies closer still.

"Zak—"

"Just do it, Nick," he barked. Reluctantly, Nick obeyed, turning on his side and placing his head on Zak's upper torso.

"Comfy?" Zak asked once they were, for the most part, situated.

"Not really."

Five minutes passed silently and still they had received no reaction from the heart broken specter.

"Aren't you jealous Jerusha?" Zak tried to provoke the spirit into giving him the results he wanted. "Don't you wish this was you laying here next to me instead of Nick?"

"I know I do…" Nick muttered only to be shushed by Zak who thought he heard a disembodied voice, even though there was still nothing but quiet. Nick felt Zak's chest fall with a frustrated sigh.

Nick was just about ready to suggest that they just call it a night, when he felt the sensation of a hand gently moving up and down the small of his back.

"Dude, seriously? This is getting a little too weird now…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're, like, friggin' stroking my back."

"Dude, my hand's not even on your back."

But, of course, Nick refused to believe him. He twisted his body slightly, angling his head so he could get a view of his back. Low and behold, Zak's hand was resting on the blanket a few inches away from where Nick felt the touch.

"That was fuckin' weird, bro," Nick turned back on his side so he was now face to face with Zak. "Like, no joke, I just felt someone going like this on my back." He reached his hand around to the spot on Zak's body and moved it in a way that would produce a sensation similar to what he had just experienced.

"Yeah, Nick that definitely wasn't me," Zak's voice came out in a whisper, mostly due to the close proximity of his fellow investigator's face to his own.

"I believe you," Nick breathed, locking his brown eyes with Zak's blue ones. They remained there for a moment, gazes unwavering from one another's. Their breaths had synced up and the feeling of the air in the room around them had changed.

"Do you feel that?" Zak exhaled as a slight shiver shot down his spine.

"Something's here," Nick agreed in an undertone. However, neither one made any move to further investigate the strange phenomena to see if it was in fact of paranormal origin.

"Do you think it's her?"

"Maybe," Nick whispered.

"Jerusha," Zak called out again. "Did you just touch, Nick?"

Both men listened intently for a response, but again, none was received. Zak rolled onto his back, lifting his head slightly off the pillow to survey the dark room once more. Though there were no visual anomalies that he could see, the cold chill in the air confirmed that they were definitely not alone.

Zak slowly turned back on his side, once again facing Nick.

"It's fuckin' freezing in here," He observed, rubbing a hand over his the goose-bumps that were starting to form all over the flesh of his arms. "Dude, why are you looking at me like that?"

But Nick offered no response; he just continued to stare at Zak in a way that friends really shouldn't stare at each other, especially if they were both dudes.

"Bro, you're kinda freaking me out right now," This was starting to remind Zak of Moon River Brewery, when Nick was partially possessed. Luckily though, his features were void of any signs of a demonic presence. Still, Nick's dark eyes held a look so full of intense emotions, that it was making Zak uncomfortable.

"Hello? Earth to Nick," He gently reached out placing a hand on his friend's shoulder and giving him a slight shake in hopes of waking him from this weird state.

Immediately, Nick's eyes darted to where Zak was touching him. He appeared startled for a second, before turning back to again look at Zak. This time though, Nick brought his hand to Zak's face, touching his cheek ever so lightly. He shuddered at the unexpectedly icy feeling of Nick's fingers, but didn't draw himself away.

"Zak…" Nick breathed his name and pulled him closer so that their lips were just barely touching.

Both men hesitated for a moment, and though Zak wasn't entirely sure what was going through Nick's mind, he sure as hell knew that something was compelling him to make the barely-there gap between their mouths disappear.

Zak lifted his head and pressed his lips to Nick, letting out a slight gasp as a jolt of electricity surged through his body as their mouths made contact. Nick responded by dropping his hand down to Zak's waist and pulled him closer so that their bodies were now flush against one another's.

The kiss deepened, filling Zak with emotions that were both enthralling and terrifying at the same time. The air around them was pulsating with energy unlike anything he'd ever experienced in his life. It was an indescribable feeling; something even the thousands of letters left in the room weren't able to even begin explaining and it only became more exhilarating as the kiss continued.

A tiny moan escaped passed Zak's lips as he slipped his hand under the black fabric of Nick's shirt, running his fingers over the heated skin underneath.

Nick's breath hitched in his throat, but instead of taking Zak's actions further, he tensed and jerked his head away. Distancing himself from Zak as much as he could, Nick sat up on the bed, eyes darting around the room, looking very much like he had just awoken from a nightmare, and couldn't remember where he was. His eyes then fell on Zak, the expression on his face reading utterly shell-shocked before the primal instinct of fight-or-flight stepped in and Nick leapt off the bed, practically lunging for the door.

Zak was unable to do anything but watch Nick start to make a run for it and then pause as if something in his brain clicked and brought him back to a coherent state. Zak didn't know what he was expecting when Nick pivoted on his feet to face him.

"What the fuck just happened?"

Zak screwed up his face in confusion and swung his legs over the side of the bed to look at Nick. Did he not remember? "I don't…uh. Why don't you tell me?"

"Dude, you fuckin' were the one who—," Nick started forward, pausing midsentence as Zak stood up.

"Whoa, just chill for a second, ok?" He held his hands out and took a cautious step toward Nick. "We can figure this out. What's the last thing you remember?"

Nick opened his mouth and shrugged, shaking his head as he tried to search his mind for the answer. "I remember…hands on my back, then touching you. And then…"

"What?" Zak prompted after Nick had trailed off.

"Uh, nothing," He looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's all I remember and then I realized you were feeling me up, so I guess that like, snapped me out of it."

Zak narrowed his eyes skeptically. "And that's it? That's all you remember?"

"Well-I, yeah?"

"There's nothing else?" Zak pressed on, unable to shake the feeling that there was something Nick wasn't telling him.

"Dude I don't know what you want me to tell you," Nick raised his voice, all of a sudden becoming defensive. "She possessed me and then I—I mean she made me—look it doesn't matter. Let's just pretend like this whole thing never happened. Okay?"

"Fine," Zak tossed his arms up in frustration. "If that's what you want to do then…whatever, fine."

"Alright then," Nick, though slightly confused, turned again to reach for the door.

"Should be easy since all we've been doing is pretending," Zak muttered under his breath.

"Zak, don't do this," Nick took his hand away from the knob, and faced the other man, pleading with his eyes.

"Then don't lie to me, Nick," Zak accused, not hesitating to get right up in Nick's face. "You and I both know it wasn't all Jerusha in there, so I'm sorry but I can't just keep 'pretending' like there isn't something here."

In the silence that followed Zak, again, found himself waiting, only this time, he wasn't straining to hear a voice in the dark, or catch a glimpse of an apparition. No longer was looking for an experience in which he could add to a letter that would only be read by people he had never met.

He wanted Nick to say something. To tell him that he too was tired of acting like there was nothing between them before saying "fuck it" and giving into the feelings that had plagued them both for so long. But right now, Nick was as silent as Jerusha had been the entire night.

"Look, if you're just gunna stand there…" Zak trailed off, voice breaking under the strain of tears that he would not let fall.

"You know, this isn't exactly easy for me either, Zak," Nick finally took his eyes off the floor. "You don't know how bad I…"He sighed, leaving the thought hanging. "But, I can't. It's not fair to my family—"

"It's not fair to _me_," Zak burst out before he could stop himself, immediately wishing he could take back his words. "Dude, I'm sorry. That's not what I—"

"No, you're right," Nick agreed. "It's not fair. But that's the way things have to be."

"Yeah," Zak sighed, nodding to show he understood where Nick was coming from. He still hated it, that they could never do anything about the feelings that were so obviously there between them.

"I should probably get back to my room before Aaron wakes up," Nick reached for the door, hearing Zak mumble a quick 'yeah' behind him.

What happened next caught Nick totally off guard. Zak grabbed on to his outstretched arm, spun him around and pinned his body up against the door. He hesitated for a moment before smashing their lips together in a frantic and bruising kiss.

"Sorry," Zak said when he pulled back from Nick. "I just…I wanted to know what it felt like when it was _actually _you."

Nick smiled and looked down, not wanting Zak to see how red his cheeks were. "See you in a few hours, man." And he was gone, the room once again quiet and Zak once again alone.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews make me happy! **


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